Yasmina Reza is a playwright from an Eastern European / Iranian / Jewish background. She writes in French, so the version of Art that we see is an excellent translation by Christopher Hampton.
As a Parisienne, she has imbued the values of French classical theatre, where tragedy is a profound form of drama and comedy a poor second best. She is consequently not happy when her plays are classed as comedy. "My plays have always been described as comedy, but I think they are tragedy. They are funny tragedy but they are tragedy."
Art pricks the bubble of pretentiousness and shows how disagreement can ruin lifelong friendships. As a perceptive commentator suggests, "art, like politics or religion, can place people in opposing positions from which it is difficult to retreat." This very much what Art is about.
In the play, Chris Harper as Serge has recently paid £200,000 for a painting by a not well known contemporary artist. The painting is a white square with barely visible diagonal markings in a different shade of white. He shows the painting to his two close friends, Marc (Aden Gillett) and Yvan (Seann Walsh).
It is clear from the outset that we are watching satirical comedy imposed on a serious subject. In a hilarious opening sequence, we watch the three friends adopting contorted physical positions in order to appreciate or make some sense of the white picture. When the outspoken Marc describes it as "a load of shit", Serge is deeply offended and a wedge is driven into their relationship.
The opening theme is presented then returned to with variations, in one of which, for example, the reconciliatory Yvan attempts to make positive comments about the painting, but ultimately describes it as "white shit". The alliances within the threesome constantly change, with Serge and Marc, whose friendship now hangs on a thread, ganging up at one point on the bemused Yvan.
Director Iqbal Khan is very clear about the style of the production, and in this he is supported by an outstanding group of actors. Seann Walsh is a successful stand-up comic with years of performance experience in a variety of different contexts. In one scene, there is an extended sequence in which he displays a funny face which is struggling not to burst into tears. The facial expressions are remarkable and very amusing.
Aden Gillette gives an assertive and occasionally threatening performance as Marc, while Chris Harper's sensitive, controlled performance of Serge binds the short play together and provides an unexpected solution to the broken friendship of the group.
The setting is minimal but very clever in providing gaps where we can see individuals entering or leaving the scene, and the set can be changed quickly by the actors. The music accompanying the action, composed by Max Pappenheim, provides a rich texture and contrast to the spoken language and imitates the action of the play in having a theme which is repeated, just like the references to the white painting.
In the early scenes of the play, the actors laugh uproariously together, but as they become increasingly estranged, the stage laughter fades. This was certainly not the case with the Sheffield audience, who were thoroughly amused and entertained by an outstanding production.